


Unconscious

by sugarandspace



Series: Whumptober 2019 [10]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Guilt, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Sibling Love, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 16:24:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20978870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarandspace/pseuds/sugarandspace
Summary: Alec's perfectly normal day as the head of the Institute gets interrupted when he hears the news that one of his sons was injured on a mission.





	Unconscious

**Author's Note:**

> I realised that I always seem to write these Lightwood-Bane family stories from Alec's POV. I need to fix that and write about Magnus next.

Alec hears a knock on his office door and lifts his head from the papers he had been looking at. 

“Come in.” 

It’s one of the Shadowhunters who works mainly in the operation room, assigning missions and overseeing how they go. He looks hesitant, and Alec gives the man his full focus. 

“The team that went to investigate the demon sightings in Brooklyn just came back,” the man says. His back is straight and his hands are clasped behind it. “Your son is injured. He’s in the infirmary.”

Alec is out of the chair in a millisecond. He’s terrified but he tries to focus on the situation.

“Max or Rafael?” He asks, to which the Shadowhunter replies immediately.

“Max.”

“Thank you for letting me know.”

The Shadowhunter nods and leaves as Alec takes his phone from the desk to dial Magnus. He leaves the office as the call connects and walks to the infirmary with long strides. 

“Alexander,” Magnus answers to the phone. He sounds happy to hear from Alec and Alec hates that he has to break that happiness with horrible news. 

“You need to come to the Institute right now,” Alec replies, and the urgency must be audible from his tone because Magnus’ next words are concerned.

“What happened?”

“It’s Max,” Alec says, trying to stay calm and collected for his husband. “He was injured on a mission, he’s in the infirmary.”

“I’ll be there in a second.”

Alec arrives at the infirmary just as the last bits of Magnus’ portal disappear to thin air. He knows immediately which room is Max’s because he can see Rafael right in front of one of the doors, looking distressed while he talks to Isabelle. His attention shifts to his fathers as soon as he sees them walking closer.

“Papa! Dad!” 

Magnus is the one to reach him first, and the fifteen-year-old accepts the hug eagerly. He’s a bit shorter than his fathers so when he speaks, his words are muffled by Magnus’s shoulder. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. “I’m so sorry.”

Magnus hushes him and Alec lays a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Alec says firmly. 

“But you don’t know what happened,” Rafael tries to argue. He goes to step away from Magnus but Magnus doesn’t let go.

“I know that you would never intentionally do something that would put your brother in danger,” Alec says. “We can talk about what happened later, but I can assure you that none of this is your fault.”

The last thing Alec wants is to act like a leader right now. He’s not here to hear about the mission and accept apologies for it going sideways - he’s here to be a father and to support his sons. It might be Max there behind the closed door but it’s obvious to all of them that whatever happened hit Rafael hard.

“I wasn’t able to protect him,” Rafael says, and that’s when the tears flow over. It’s been years since either of them has seen him cry, even longer since the misery has been so heart-wrenchingly deep, but there in Magnus’ embrace Rafael doesn’t even try to hide his tears.

Magnus holds on tightly and offers soft whispers of comfort, and Alec moves so he’s able to wrap his arms around them both and to leave a kiss to the top of Rafael’s head.

“How is Max?” Alec asks, directing the question to Isabelle. “What happened to him?”

“He has a big demon-bite on his side,” Isabelle tells them. Her tone is serious as she continues. “He lost quite a lot of blood, and what he didn’t lose was tainted by the poison.”

“I want to help with the healing,” Magnus says immediately. He lets go of Rafael reluctantly, but he knows that their younger son is in a more desperate need of his help. Just as he’s about to walk to the door, it opens and one of the Institute’s healers steps out of the room.

In the brief time the door is open, Alec can see a peek inside the room. He sees Max laying on the bed, unmoving and with his eyes closed. He keeps looking at the spot even as the door closes, and he hears the healer’s words through a fog, even though the first words do lift some of the worry.

“He’s going to be fine,” she says. “We were able to clear the blood from toxins and he should make a full recovery. He’s currently unconscious and will need a lot of rest but you’re welcome to see him if you want to.”

Magnus thanks the healer and they head inside, and it’s like the true severity of the situation hits Alec then. He’s been trying to stay calm and collected for his family but seeing his child there in the infirmary bed looking so very fragile cuts some of the last strings that had been keeping Alec together.

Alec stops a few feet further away from the bed than the rest, and Magnus turns to look at him.

“Alexander?” Magnus asks his brows furrowed in concern.

Alec doesn’t say anything and he doesn’t move closer. He feels the tears well up in his eyes but he doesn't want to let them fall, doesn’t want to make Rafael worry more.

Magnus walks to him and takes a hold of Alec’s hands that are hanging limply by his sides. 

“Magnus,” Alec says, the name coming out thickly. He doesn’t say more but he doesn’t need to, because Magnus looks at him with so much understanding and love. 

“I know, Alexander,” he says, and Alec knows he does. “I know.”

Magnus hugs him briefly and then pulls him forward, and they walk to the side of Max’s bed with their hands held tightly together. Rafael and Izzy are on the other side, and Rafael has already pulled a chair next to the bed, his hand combing through his brother’s curly hair.

There’s a storm of feelings inside Alec - the fear he held for Max and that still lingers, worry for Rafael, the guilt for letting Max and Rafael into a dangerous situation - and it feels like too much for one person to handle.

“He’s going to be okay,” Isabelle reminds the family from where she’s rubbing Rafael’s back lightly.

Alec looks around the room and knows that he doesn’t need to carry those emotions on his own. What happened was traumatic to the whole family, and as the shock will fade, they will talk, and they will do their best to make sure that no one is left alone with their feelings.

Max is going to heal, and they will be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read these stories and left kudos or a comment! I'm so behind on replying to comments but know that I love and cherish each and every one and I will reply to them as soon as life gets a little less hectic!


End file.
